Grateful Yogi's Classes & Workshops, Fall 2010!

Each night, as the leaves rustle outside my windows, I am reminded that the majority of my life's joy comes from the simplest, yet most awe inspiring moments: as the leaves begin to change, I find myself gasping to take in the beauty that makes up this world. I listen to the sounds of crunching leaves beneath my feet, or find myself stunned in stillness at the grace of a sunrise or sunset. The smell of the rain. Squirrels running through the trees. A hug from a close friend, or smile from a stranger. All of these things are so incredibly powerful--as powerful as they are often effortless. As the New England summer fades--and just as the fluctuations of our mind ebb and flow from moment to moment--I continue to find steadiness and stability in my yoga practice. My own breath comforts me. The strength or softness of my yoga practice, dependent upon the day, reminds me that my body and mind are always in flux--and that it is my choice as to whether I embrace each movement and breath with awareness of love and harmony, or whether I bring to it my own habitual struggles or frustrations. Through yoga, I learn again and again to trust myself, to listen to my body's or mind's intuition--and how to understand the difference in the two. Whether you've been practicing yoga for months or years--or if you're just considering your first yoga class, I hope you'll join me in a yoga practice this fall. Below you'll find some new classes on my regular schedule, as well as some fabulous workshops of all kinds (Gentle? Power? Ashtanga? You'll find it here!). Towards the bottom of this email, you can find class descriptions, and as always, you're free to contact me privately with any questions and/or concerns. Please visit the following studio websites for information on pricing, locations, directions, and so forth: Samadhi Yoga Studio: www.samadhiyogastudio.com and West Hartford Yoga: www.westhartfordyoga.com

Also,for *new* students to Samadhi Yoga Studio in Manchester--I have FREE CLASS passes available! If you've already been to Samadhi but would like to bring a first-time friend, family member, acquaintance, etc., I'm happy to give you a FREE CLASS pass for them. Contact me privately for details.

In the coming weeks, whether it's through yoga, in your car, or walking outside--take time to notice the sounds and colors of the changing leaves. As you listen and watch them, take moment to breathe with gratitude, compassion and awe. Walk with joy in your heart, so that you are more inclined to speak and act with kindness, never doubting your ability to love fully and freely. Enjoy these days--not because you have to, because you can.

Ongoing, weekly scheduled classes:

Mon, 930-1045am, All Levels Yoga--Samadhi (Manchester)

Tue & Thur, 6:00-7:15am, Ashtanga--Samadhi (Manchester)

Wed, 4:30-5:45pm, All Levels--Samadhi (Manchester)

Thur, 915-1030am, Gentle Yoga--West Hartford Yoga

Upcoming additional classes:

Wed, Sept 29, 730-800pm, **FREE** Led Meditation--Samadhi (Manchester)

Wed, Oct 10, 730-800pm **FREE** Led Meditation--Samadhi (Manchester)

Sun, Nov 14, 3:00pm-4:00pm, **$5!!** All Levels Community Yoga--West Hartford Yoga

Workshops/Special Series/Events:

“Body-Peace Flow” A Special Event Yoga Practice

Sat, Nov 6, 10:30am-12:30pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio

Many of us harbor personal histories with body image issues: eating disorders, body dymorphia, obsessive dieting, and/or other struggles with self esteem. In this two hour all-levels yoga flow, students will be encouraged to acknowledge and release what often hinders us the most: self-disappointment, self-loathing, fear, and shame. Through pranayama (breath), asana (movement), and meditation, we will cultivate an awareness of body/mind/spirit in a compassionate and healing way. Through yoga, we invite self-acceptance even to our most vulnerable spaces; in doing so, we transform our bodies and minds into vehicles that offer support, nurturance, and a greater sense of love and inner peace.

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Ashtanga, Full Primary Series (2hrs), led once per month:

Sat, Nov 13, 12:00-2:00pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio

Sat, Dec 4, 1200-2:00pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio

In this once-per-month workshop, you will be led through the full Primary Series of Ashtanga (in regularly scheduled classes, we are unable to practice the full series due to time limitations). See description below or on website for details on Ashtanga.

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Give yourself the gift of *Restorative Yoga* this Holiday Season!

Sat, Dec 18, 1:00-3:00pm, West Hartford Yoga

For many of us, winter months are full of work, travel, and holiday and family gatherings; while such occasions are intended to be joyous and festive, they can also be demanding, hectic, and stressful. In this 2 ½ hour Restorative Yoga practice, release stress, tension, and anxiety through a series of supported yoga postures designed to relax the body and mind deeply and completely. Soothe and stimulate the muscles, organs, mind, and spirit as you reclaim and rebalance your inner prana and apana (masculine and feminine energies). Cultivate ease and gentility in this quiet, meditative yoga practice, as you unwind into a greater sense of inner peace and calm.

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Class descriptions:

Gentle Yoga: All levels of fitness and flexibility are welcome; gentle yoga offers students ways to explore postures safely, peacefully, and with ease. Gentle yoga offers students a chance to confront depth and intensity of movement through patience and softness. Using the breath to initiate movement, we each find our own experience of asanas (postures) through our own level of flexibility and strength. Gentle classes move at a relaxing pace to encourage peaceful movement and meditations; such practices are helpful for stress relief, soothing aching muscles and injuries, and offer a sense of peace and calm to all students. Gentle yoga is wonderful for newer and more advanced students; no experience necessary.

All Levels Yoga: Encouraged to go at your own pace, you will be offered modifications to intensify or soften your yoga practice based on your level of energy, experience, and need on any given day. All Levels yoga offers students a chance to connect with breath, movement, and meditation in order to build strength and flexibility in body and mind. Connecting our asanas (postures) to pranayama (breath) allows us to understand and explore our bodies peacefully and mindfully. Learn to listen to the intuition of your body and quiet the mind, while building strength and flexibility in the core, legs, back, arms, and so forth. Leave feeling at once refreshed, relaxed, and invigorated. No experience necessary.

Ashtanga: This rigorous class builds mental and physical strength and flexibility through a challenging series of postures separated by vinyasa sequences. Ashtanga harmonizes the breath with a set series of poses to produce an intense internal heat and purifying sweat to detoxify the body In this class, we will build physical flexibility and strength in the legs, core, back, and arms, while expanding our mind-body connection through challenging our willpower, attention, and mental focus. This class is open to all levels of practitioners, but prepare yourself for a challenging class! No experience necessary.

Power Yoga: In power classes, we cultivate heat in the body, while diving into a deepened, more intense strength building practice. In this safe space, students gain a greater ability to witness and accept their strengths and weaknesses through basic and advanced postures that challenge stamina, endurance, and personal will. In power classes, explore, endure, build patience and strength, increase confidence, all while utilizing the breath to maintain inner calm and equanimity. Such practices introduce new ways to make room for patience and compassion, ultimately leading us to feel rejuvenated in body, mind and spirit. This class is often heated, so be prepared to sweat as we build core strength, upper and lower body strength; we may explore inversions and/or arm balances. While this is open to all levels, newer students should be prepared to go at their own pace.

There's no place like home

I don’t really know what to say, except that I miss you. It’s been too long since I’ve written, but you know the spiel—“I’ve been so busy!”. And I have. But I’m attempting to jump back in again. There’s this freeing energy and sense of connectedness that I get from blogging—especially since so many of you were here with me during such a profound time in my life. As someone who’s spent much of her life writing in private journals and keeping most of what I’ve said to myself, it’s refreshing to share this space with you, my friends, family, and perhaps even, strangers.

The last several months have been full of emotional, financial, and physical ups and downs (I know, how original, right?). There have been days when I’ve hardly slept, weeks when I’ve bounced back and forth between the yoga studio and bar without a breath in between, and too many months where I’ve struggled to pay rent. All of these have inevitably led to random bouts of falling tears and/or instances of uncontrollable laughter. There have been many days where I’ve taught so much yoga I haven’t had time to practice. During some weekends, I’ve done nothing but practice, as I’ve recently begun another yoga-training program. Some weeks I see my girlfriend, others not so much. Sometimes I remember to feed the cats, and I occasionally walk the dog (thank goodness there’s two of us). At the end of last year, I broke my pinky so I’ve had to retire Martin for a bit, and I miss her. The good news is that I've taken up hula hooping instead, and we (OK, Ali) also set up a yoga swing in the house which is more fun--and challenging!--than you can imagine. Our house is at last a real house; we're all set up in our own unique and playful way. Last weekend we finally hosted that housewarming party we’d talked about for so long, and spent time with our hilarious and amazing friends. So while the ups and downs have been fairly commonplace over the last seven or eight months, I’ve recently noticed that in the midst of this whirlwind, I’m happily settled in, cozy, calm, and peacefully content.

I owe much of that to Ali. You often hear people talk about their partners as a “rock” of support –- she’s more like my rock, soil, roots, pavement, grass (and since it’s currently wintertime in CT), snow. I never imagined I’d find a partner to so openly share myself with, but whether it’s a great day or a hellish one, she’s right there being just who she is, and I’m free to be exactly who I am. With her, I feel safe, protected, and free. She is the reason my smile is so genuine and my heart so full of love. And I don’t just feel that because she can, on a whim, make a hula hoop or yoga swing, really. It’s because she’s exactly…her. Imperfectly, beautifully, and lovingly, her. Her kindness is real. Her smile lights up a room. And she believes in me. Not just for whom I can be to her, but because she says she’s just glad I’m in the world—and that means everything to me. Sometimes I wonder if I am able to provide the same amount of support, love, and freedom that she gives to me; I hope and pray all the time that she knows how safe and loved she is.

Bleh. I know, I know. It’s kinda pukey. But it’s real and I just couldn’t help but say it. Pukey or not, I think it’s important to express love and joy when you can. So I’ll continue with this:

I also owe this peace of mind and contentment to my fellow yogis at Samadhi Yoga and Storrs Yoga studios. In the last several months, through them, I’ve come to know the most incredible, loving people from all over CT, the US, and the world. The students and teachers here are full of kindness and live with intentions of spreading peace to others; they believe in hope, joy, and know that happiness and love unite us on this earth. It is because of them that I’ve realized that Manchester, CT has become my home. Who woulda thought?! But I guess that a little bit of falling in love, incredible friends, and large community of grateful yogis add up to make a really special place to live. And for this Florida-sun-lovin’-yogi girl, that is all I’ve ever wished for—to feel safe, secure, loved—and above all, to feel at home.

And….speaking of home, my mom comes next week (we’ll miss you, P!), and I can’t wait. To share my mom and my Al all at once is such a gift, and I can’t wait for those few days.

Thanks for continuing to be a part of my journey. If you have the time and desire, check out my new yoga-group, “Grateful Yogis!” on Facebook. I’ve created the group so that people can find out about yoga classes and workshops I’m offering or participating in. If you’re not a Facebook person, I can add you to my email list instead, just write me personally with your email address.

Peace, love and home sweet home, Rebecca